SKETCHINGDEFINITION – FUNCTION –TECHNIQUES

DEFINITION OF ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHING• In the early design process, designers draw diagrams and sketches to

explore ideas and solutions. Designers are trained to use paper and pencil to develop conceptual designs. • They draw to develop ideas and communicate their thinking through

the act of drawing. Design drawing is an iterative and interactive act involving recording ideas, recognizing functions and meaning in the drawings, and finding new forms and adapting them into the design.

WHY SKETCHING?

• In the early design process, designers draw diagrams and sketches to explore ideas and solutions.• Drawings are mental tools. Architects sketch to help themselves to see

and understand the form they work with, and to communicate with others. • Despite the fact that these drawings may seem crude, they are valuable

in understanding how designers work because each of them serves its purpose in a work of importance.• Each line in a drawing plays a role. It could represent an outline of a

form or a path of force (e.g., wind, rain, or light ray). Architectural design deals with both form and function.

BENEFIT FOR ARCHITECTURE:

Express design concepts, volume, and inspiration quickly before they become concrete hard-line drawings

Sketch by Sou Pierre Jeanneret

FOR INTERIOR DESIGN

Create expressive view of the different components of a space

For Landscape Architect 

To convey concepts to clients and study possible solutions

FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

To describe specific details of a problems or opportunities on the job site to the architect or subcontractors.

3 TYPES OF SKETCHING:

1- Conceptual sketches: can reveal the essence of a complex idea. The challenge in the concept sketch is to clearly communicate the design intention.

2-Analytical sketches: can be used to analyse a building , space or component. These can be created at any stage of the design process.

3-Observational sketches: can be used to describe aspects of building exploring materials colors and space.

A QUICK REVIEW OF INFLUENTAL ARCHITECTS SKETCHES

Frank Llyod Wright

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 1956, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, FLLW 5611.001, 37 30 in., Graphite pencil and color pencil on white tracing paper

the patina of his process shows as he layers guidelines, ruled lines, erasures, shading, and notes. The sketch displays a front elevation and a circular plan; they correspond to each other so that Wright could easily transfer measurements. With this technique, he could also study how the decisions made in plan affected the elevation and vice versa. Onto this drawing he sketched freehand details and changes reflecting his design exploration.

Eero Saarinen

David Ingalls Rink perspective study, c. 1953, Yale University Library Archives, #5081, 8.5 11 in., Dark pencil on yellow notebook paper

Sketched on yellow notebook paper with soft graphite pencil, the image is fluid, as the smooth line of the arched spine has been sketched in a continuous stroke. Shadows, foliage, and texture enrich the three-dimensional illusion and contextual qualities. One aspect that feels unresolved is the connection of the spine to the ground in front of the entry doors. Here the graphite appears darker, possibly because Saarinen reworked the terminus, hoping to find a solution with the perspective. Saarinen’s design process assisted him to understand complex forms, as is evidenced by this beautiful and confident sketch.

Le Corbusier

Plate #322, Sketchbook 18, Volume 2, sketch of Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp, February1951, Le Corbusier Foundation/ARS, Carnet E18, 15 10 cm, Ink on sketchbook paper

Uneven and scratchy lines were used to explore the chapel in plan and elevation. The roof to the right has been identified with the letter ‘a.’ On the legend which describes his symbols, ‘a’ has been translated as arrondi, ‘round.’ Given the abstract qualities of the sketch. Le Corbusier may not have trusted his memory. He needed a written note to remind him of that moment in the process when he was thinking about the curve of the eave. He also made notes of his personal dialogue, writing ‘attention’ to remind himself about fissuring. The sketchbooks were for him a discussion about design and also represented memory devices.

Mies van der Rohe

Theater project combined elevation and section, May 1909, The Museum of Modern Art/SCALA/ARS/Art Resource, #717.1963, 121.9 243.8 cm, Graphite, ink, and cut and pasted papers

An unusual technique Mies employed was that of collage. These paper constructions were abstractions, not intended to portray spatial qualities. Mies has carefully cut rectangles to place in comparative positions on the page. He used bright yellow paper drawn over with a grid, resembling fenestration or an abstract pattern.The forms reflect Mies’ bold and simple rectangles which act as planes slicing through space. Without a ground line, the assembly provides little orientation. The proportions may be valid from any direction..

Alvar Aalto

Preliminary studies for Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, 1962/1967–1971, 1973–1975, The Alvar Aalto Museum/Drawing Collection, 30 75cm, Pencil on tracing paper

The extensive archive of Aalto’s drawings and sketches reveals his unique hand. Besides the light touch and fluid lines, these lines show strong ending points, as if he was hesitating before removing the pencil from the surface or was reinforcing prominent edges. He entered a dialogue with the images, as they contain notes, calculations, and, in many instances, have been oriented from numerous directions. Aalto frequently strengthened important walls or boundaries by continually drawing over his lines. this sketch has been crowded with calculations and partially complete forms.

Santiago Calatrava

Sketch plan (05), 1999, Tenerife Concert Hall, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 30 40cm, Watercolor

The plan, section, and elevation sketches for this Concert Hall have been explored with graphite and watercolor in hues of blue and yellow. Without the written explanation of the building, it would be difficult to understand the abstraction of the plan. It appears to show several levels and the exterior of the structure all at the same time. The graphite under the watercolor has been sketched freehand. Although the sketch appears to illustrate the refinement of form, Calatrava was also employing color to help him imagine the space and, possibly, represent the building materials.

Charles Correa

Housing sketch, 1999

Surprisingly controlled, the sketch seems to be comprised of very few marks. It appears Correa rarely lifted the pencil off the paper; he had a strong concept in mind before he began. This beautiful sketch is fascinating. Without guidelines and with a precision hand, the sketch was drawn from either observation or a very clear image in the mind’s eye. Seeing the outline of the design was enough for Correa to place himself in the sketch and imagine the look and function of the building. His ability to view the potential of an idea with a simple sketch is a remarkable skill; it requires much practice as well as a thoughtful relationship with his sketching instruments

Hiroshi Hara

Mid-Air City sketch, 1989, Umeda Sky Building, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, 1993, 3.6 2.1 in., Air brush, colored pencil

This sketch appears to be an early ‘ideogram’. Their light color assists in their cloud-like nature and weightlessness. The sketch’s ambiguous forms and tenuous connections provide a surreal impression, as if Hara is designing an ideal future at the same time he is designing for OsakaHara’s sketch describes the idea of the Umeda building, rather than the reality of its final construction

Gregg Lynn

Preliminary exploratory museum sketches, March 3, 2002, Ark of the World Museum and Interpretive Center, San Juan, Costa Rica, 11 14 in., Ink on Bristol paper

Strikingly, these forms appear to be sketched with construction in mind. Although perspectives dashed lines within their shapes show the form in its entirety. This use of see-through glasses to view what is behind suggests this sketch is not about viewing the finished composition, but rather inspecting the joining of the shapes. Although a common drawing convention, the dotted line technique helps to clarify the relationships between the pieces and adds to the three-dimensional impression. Rendered in blue ink, the sketch is remarkably precise – very necessary when viewing such complex combinations

Enric Miralles

Preliminary plan sketch, 1992–1995, Mollet del Valles, Park and Civic Center, Barcelona, Spain, Graffiti and crayon on paper

this image uses crayon to form crucial relationships between concepts or representational spaces. Appearing as plan or elevation relationships, the sketch reflects conceptual intentions. ‘The main interest of this project is, maybe, not directly in it, but in the “themes” it contains; the suspension of the building, of graffiti becoming architecture, of the colors of a painting becoming places, of the suspended spirit of the users, of unexpected connection.…We like to think that this project could be a project for the “near future,” being a more subtle conception of architecture. Architecture of the future will be lighter, especially in its concept.’

REFERENCES:

BOOKS:

-ARCHITECTS’ DRAWINGS, A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History, KENDRA SCHANK SMITH, , Architectural Press An imprint of Elsevier Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford, 2005.

-Basics Architecture 01: Representational Techniques By Lorraine Farrelly

ACADEMIC PAPERS:

- Functional and Formal Reasoning in Architectural Sketches Ellen Yi-Luen Do Design Machine Group Department of Architecture, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-5720 ellendo@u.washington.edu

thank you for pretending to pay attention

PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY ELIE EID